2000
#519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,786
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.42
Common Last name
Li
A Chinese surname meaning "plum" or "plum tree," or referring to the ancient Li state in Shandong Province.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 190,116 Americans carry the last name Li. That puts it at #154 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 55.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,803 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Li surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Li with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
190K
1 in 1,803
Census rank
#154
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
55.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
166K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 165,790 bearers of the surname Li in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 55.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Li, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Li
The surname LI has its origins in China, where it has been in use since ancient times. It is one of the most common surnames in the country and is believed to have originated from the state of Li, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BC) in present-day Shandong province.
The name LI is thought to have derived from the word "li," which means "plum" or "plum tree" in Chinese. This suggests that the surname may have initially been used to denote someone who lived near or worked with plum trees. Alternatively, it could have been a reference to a particular characteristic or trait associated with the plum tree.
Historical records show that the surname LI appeared in various ancient Chinese texts and manuscripts, including the Shiji, a historical record written by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The Shiji mentions several prominent individuals with the surname LI, such as Li Si, a prominent statesman and scholar during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname LI can be found in the Book of Documents, an ancient Chinese classic text dating back to around 1000 BC. The text mentions a person named Li Kui, who served as a minister during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC).
Throughout Chinese history, the surname LI has been associated with numerous notable figures, including:
1. Li Bai (701-762 AD), a renowned poet of the Tang Dynasty widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in Chinese literature.
2. Li Shizhen (1518-1593), a renowned pharmacologist and herbalist who authored the Compendium of Materia Medica, a monumental work on traditional Chinese medicine.
3. Li Qingzhao (1084-1155), a renowned female poet and writer of the Song Dynasty, known for her beautiful and emotional poetry.
4. Li Yuan (566-635), the founder of the Tang Dynasty and the first emperor of the dynasty.
5. Li Guang (born 1943), a prominent Chinese physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of superconductivity and condensed matter physics.
The surname LI has also been associated with various place names in China, such as Licheng, a historical city in Shandong province, and Lizhou, an ancient county in present-day Hubei province. These place names may have influenced the spread and usage of the surname LI in different regions of China.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Li
Among Census respondents with the surname Li, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Li bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Li surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.0% · 159,133
- White2.1% · 3,557
- Two or more races0.9% · 1,441
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 879
- Black or African American0.5% · 747
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Li
Li appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111,786
+54,000 bearers (+93.4%)
Per 100,000 37.90
Rank movement Up 246 places
2020
#154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 165,790
+54,004 bearers (+48.3%)
Per 100,000 55.47
Rank movement Up 119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #519 | 57,786 | 21.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #273 | 111,786 | 37.90 | +54,000 bearers (+93.4%) | Up 246 places |
| 2020 | #154 | 165,790 | 55.47 | +54,004 bearers (+48.3%) | Up 119 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Li surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #273 | #154 | 43.6% |
| Count | 111,786 | 165,790 | 48.3% |
| Per 100K | 37.90 | 55.47 | 46.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Li bearers went from 111,786 to 165,790 (+48.3% change). The surname moved up 119 positions in the national ranking, going from #273 to #154.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Li
FAQ
Li surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Li?
Name Census estimates that about 190,116 living Americans carry the surname Li. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,803 residents.
How common is Li?
Li ranks #154 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 55.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 55 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 165,790 people with the surname Li. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (190,116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 55.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 55.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 55 of them to have the surname Li.
Has Li become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Li went from 111,786 recorded bearers to 165,790. That is an increase of 54,004 (+48.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #273 to #154.
What does the Census say about the background of Li?
Among Census respondents with the surname Li, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Li in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (159,133 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Li appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (96.0%), White (2.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Li (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Li mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "plum" or "plum tree," or referring to the ancient Li state in Shandong Province. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Li (55.47 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Li?
Find out how common the surname Li is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.